Bias in Machine Learning Algorithms — For Granny

Rashmi Nagpal
Nov 3 · 3 min read

As a part of my coursework, I had to explain any technical concept of computer sciences to my granny, so I weaved a poem for her! ❤

Source: Shutterstock.com

Granny look around, can you see women being blamed?

Because they demand for living, being bold and seeking freedom

Rather than being tamed?

Why to condemn those angels?

Why not to blame men too,

Who cut them, chop them, and keep their pieces in their own caricatured den.

Not all are damned, so do I stand with a few of them,

But even a drop of curd rots the entire glass of milk when perfectly blend.

When trust is crushed and shattered in pieces but hope does smother,

To give a sliver chance for a fresh start is what I aspire.

She is scared of what the world is now,

Since men seldom click heels or greet her with a bow.

Equals, is what I implore to be treated,

Does equals require very special treatment when greeted?

I question myself a million times when in doubt,

This question peeks around in every round of my bout.

I glare; words fail; befallen

Crushed is their respect, which is ripped off with hurt and swollen.

Equality sans respect, is what I dread,

Subjugation with respect is disgust to tread.

These weights must hold fort for one another

To intersect at a point, where gender is not a bother.

A world we must craft, a model to behold,

For women to walk leisurely in Delhi streets at night and be bold.

To dance and to laugh with their heart out as to what they decide,

Respect is no longer a word which I want to emphasize.

Granny,

You too wanted to shine bright like a diamond star,

But, with chains of society you can’t go too far.

So, let’s just erase those dark imprints on your heart,

And make a fresh new start.

Allow me to ease your pain and misery,

And make our own new history.

Unstoppable I am, is further I want to highlight.

To climb new heights, is all in my sight.

Granny,

Do me a favor

Look into the mirror,

I am a girl of the same age, as you were 50 years ago

Your preconceived notions, should fade away and let them go.

I am not a distaste to your palate

nor the one who could ruin your social-state.

I too bleed red,

And could train a machine learning model with (few!) errors interpolate.

Stereotypes help you to classify me.

But I am given a life so let me live it.

Let me discover, breathe and be it.

I am not the stereotypical cliche of whatever you imagine me to be;

I am not going to be boxed within the framework of a system

which the majority of the population has decided to accept as it is.

Yes, I am voicing my ideas so loud,

For I don’t want to be a mere dot within that crowd.

Our minds are nothing more than a prison cemented with fear,

A mentality that our enemy is out there.

Always, been advised to put your weapons down so as to stay safe within our own box,

But why don’t we understand that our belief system is nothing more than a

Mental lock?

We are forced to stay in the well full of biases,

Without letting us to move on, in the world of Machine Learning and AI,

Which will teach us how to follow a religion of co-di-fied.

I am ready to be accountable for my actions; condemn no more;

Fight no more; Degrade no more

Let’s hold hands and prove to the past and future

That chivalry, with no room for bias is what we shall work to nurture.

Oh, granny with your sweet voice and warmth everywhere,

Oops, my buggy training model that I forgot to care,

Let’s sing a melody, to clear that muffled noise

Meanwhile, I’ll learn to train my model to free from any bias.

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